Greetings to everyone in this time of Spring. Jazzianza’s family is busy these days! If you can plant some native flowers to support them, that would be wonderful. They are loving the borage and lavender I have for them in the backyard. I hope they’re visiting near you, as well.
Although we’ve talked about it before, we think it’s worth exploring the immense importance of kindness, encouragement, and appreciation. After all, it was because Jazi did the breathing practices MamaQueenzieBee taught her that she could become calm enough to center in her true self, which was kindness seated in strength. Due to this centered and balanced state, she was able to save her sisters from what might have been a real disaster for them.
So – kindness, encouragement, and appreciation…First, Jazi and I have our own story to share. About a month ago, we received a notification from WordPress that we had comments on the website to review. We received this most beautiful message:
Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
Because the purple clover and the tiny sweat bee
appreciate each other life goes on.
Your contribution to the world doesn’t have to be
a great or small accomplishment. It is enough—
it is glory — for you to offer mindfulness and gratitude.
You pollinate the world with your attention.Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Who is this beautiful soul that took the time to send such a supportive, loving comment that caused me to cry? I sent it to a dear friend of mine, and she told me she’s been receiving his daily spiritual poetry for a couple of years now! I have since signed up and would highly recommend you check him out at his website, Unfolding Light. https://unfoldinglight.net
Our point in telling you this is that his kindness and appreciation were deeply meaningful to me. I have no idea how he found his way to our website, but the fact that he did and then left such a beautiful response was impactful. We rarely hear back from people because, let’s face it, life is busy. We do our best and hope that it resonates as a tiny drop of hope in our world. Pastor Steve taking the time to write these loving, supportive words was a good reminder for us of the importance of kindness and appreciation. We just never know how it might influence someone.
That takes us to our second little story… There’s an unhoused man in the city I live in whom I’ve many times given a bit of money to if the stoplight allows it. I once ran into him outside of Staples, and we got into a wonderful conversation. Brian has MS, and although I don’t know how he ended up on the streets, it’s clear to me he’s a beautiful soul. I didn’t see him for months, worried about him, and then saw him again in a supermarket. I called his name and went up to him, happy to see him. We talked for a while and then he said, teary-eyed, “Thank you for treating me like a real person.” He walked away so I wouldn’t see him crying. His words touched me deeply. We all want to be seen. We all want to be treated with kindness, dignity, and appreciation. Even just saying “hello” can help someone more than we might know.
From the inception of the writing of Bee-Coming Strong, bees have encouraged me. As I mentioned in a newsletter some time ago, one day while waiting in front of Pep Boys for my car to be finished, wondering how I was ever going to get it published, a bee circled my head several times, then briefly landed on me. She came to tell me it was going to be all right. Indeed it was!
The day after the book launch, a bee came and squarely sat on my arm. Though a regular event while living on Palomar Mountain, this was the first time I had this experience after living in this home for six years. And they did it twice, in one day! Then, about a month ago, while at an outdoor gathering, the person next to me swished away a bee that I hadn’t noticed was flying around my head. When I told her I liked bees, we got into a conversation that blew me away. She’s a 2nd grade teacher and loved the idea of BCS! That little bee brought us together, and now she’s going to read it to her class. Yesterday, I sent her a Jazianzza sticker for each of her students, as well as one for her! So you see, nature can bring us encouragement and support if we stay open to it.
And what about bees themselves? Yes, they help support one another as a hive, but they sometimes also take care of other bees. Check out this marvelous little video a wonderful friend sent me… bees demonstrating kindness and support for a random sister bee. We think you might enjoy it.
So again, Jazi and I want to encourage everyone to lean into your kindness and encouragement of others, even strangers. These are incredibly challenging times for everyone. And we are also hoping you will pay a bit more attention and look for the many ways that nature might be encouraging and supporting you, as well. A saint once said, “The Divine is always, always, always, always showering us with blessings. Always.” Five times he said it. It’s just for us to open ourselves to see the way that we are being supported, which in turn, gives us more strength to support others.
Wishing you a month of delight, of unexpected support coming your way, and of finding new ways to shine your beautiful light for others.
May you thrive!
“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”
Maya Angelou